British military chiefs and loyalist paramilitary killers are being blamed by the IRA today for threatening the peace process in Northern Ireland.
As Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams heads for a new round of talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair at Downing Street, the republican leadership also claimed unionists were seeking to impose unacceptable and unrealistic ultimatums on the IRA.
More discussions involving all the pro-Belfast Agreement parties are scheduled for later this month, but there is no sign in today's IRA New Year message of republicans yielding to unionist demands to disarm and disband.
The Provisionals insist they are totally committed to the search for peace. But the peace process, they claim, is under threat.
A statement in An Phoblachtsaid: "This [threat] emanates from the British military establishment, its intelligence agencies and from the loyalist murder gangs".
The British, they claim, have not kept their commitments and unionist leaders had refused to embrace change. The statement says: "But both [the British and unionists] have tried to place the responsibility for the present crisis and its resolution on the IRA. They have sought to impose unacceptable and unrealistic ultimatums on the IRA".
The Irish and British governments are trying to have the institutions at Stormont running again by the end of next month in advance of the planned Assembly elections in May.
But the poll may be postponed, as republicans are resisting unionist pressure on weapons and disbandment, there is no Sinn Féin agreement on policing arrangements, and the party's demands for the removal of British military apparatus in areas like south Armagh have yet to be met.
Today's statement adds: "The IRA leadership has outlined . . . how the full implementation by the two governments of their commitments could provide a political context with the potential to remove the causes of conflict. That remains our view.
"The primary responsibility for restoring confidence in this process lies with the British Government. Honouring their obligations is how this can be done".
PA